Halo 2: Revelations
by Mr.Sludgy
Summary: Halo. A series of weapons used to clean the biological slate of the universe, and contain a most dire threat. To humanity, the ring is an abomination. To the Covenant, a holy instrument. In a universe of questions, one stands tallest. Who is right?
1. Halo 2: Revelations

Halo 2

By Mr. Sludgy 

Please note that many characters, events, and locations are not of my own conception, but are the result of the work of employees of Bungie and Microsoft, or others.

Special thanks go to anyone who provides me helpful insight on this story. Some information may not be used. My apologies on this, but I may not agree with everyone's opinions. Please don't hesitate to contribute, though, because I mean no ill will.

**Chapter One**

**Deployment 02 hours, 32 minutes, 27 seconds (Sergeant Benson Mission Clock)/ Echo 379, in combat deployment to Delta Halo.**

Staff sergeant Martin Benson sat back in his seat in the troop bay of Pelican dropship Echo 379, and nervously checked the clip in his battle rifle, even though the ammo counter on his helmet's visor read it as full. Even so, Benson had to make sure. The ammo counter was right, and the Sergeant was satisfied.  
Under normal circumstances, Benson and the troops he accompanied would've rode down to the surface of Delta Halo in human entry vehicles, or HEVs. In this case, the dozen and a half Marines were required to ride down in a Pelican.  
The Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, affectionately known as ODSTs, or 'Helljumpers', by the other divisions of the UNSC would need the transport later, because of the particularity of the mission. The rest of the Sergeant's squad rode in another Pelican, along with a few engineers tagging along for the ride.  
From the mission briefing that Benson had received, his two squads were sent out to look for something called 'the Monitor'. Benson had always considered himself to be a fairly smart person, but he couldn't help but wonder what the Monitor looked like. The sergeant currently envisioned it as some gigantic computer screen, maybe with some sort of AI plastered across it.  
Each Pelican carried with it a Warthog LRV, one armed with a gauss cannon, and one, his own Echo 379,with a LAAG machine gun.  
The callsign of Echo 379 was 'Coviecapper', and the other's was 'Divebomb'. Benson wasn't sure _how_ the Pelicans had received these nicknames, but he was equally sure that he wanted to know. He thought they were lousy callsigns, but he couldn't come up with anything better, and he didn't plan on bringing it up with the pilots. Navy people were touchy about their rides.  
Sergeant Benson wasn't highest in command on this mission. One Lieutenant Jamison, a levelheaded woman with a flair for strategy, took that job. Rumor had it that the El-tee had the type of tactical skill that would've helped keep the SPARTAN program alive. That was no small compliment, either, considering that the Master Chief was nearly buried in the awards heaped on him, and his Career Service Vitae was equally, if not more, impressive. However, talk was cheap, regardless of who said it.  
The sergeant had never met the Master Chief, but he'd served under the SPARTAN's previous commanding officer, Captain Jacob Keyes, for a short time. Keyes had been the commander of the battleship _Iroquois_ then. Benson thought Keyes had gone crazy, until he realized that the commander was beating the pulp out of the Covenant at Sigma Octanus IV.  
Idly, Benson adjusted the settings on some of his battle suit's secondary functions. The armored suit that Benson and the other ODSTs currently wore was modeled after the MJOLNIR armor that the SPARTANs were supposed to wear. The battle suit didn't have shielding, like the Mark-V and Mark-VI, but it had the same vacuum-protection systems, energy and projectile weapons protection and radiation protection. The only differences were that the Marine version of the suit had a matte black paint job, which Benson liked much better, and it looked fairly different from the Mark-VI suit.  
"Lieutenant, we have two Banshees and a Phantom closing at three o'clock. Preparing to engage." The pilot paused for a moment, waiting for Jamison's reply. "Acknowledged. We're ready."  
"Roger that, Lieutenant. Echo Two-Eighty-Eight, cover our six." The pilot opened up the barrier that separated the cockpit from the troop bay, and spoke into his microphone, "If someone would be so kind as to man the machine turret, I'd be much obliged."  
Benson moved to undo his harness, but a zealous private, who went by the name of 'Cookie', beat him to it. The sergeant shrugged, and locked his BR-55 into a socket between his seat and the one to his right. The ODST occupying that particular seat moved his arm to allow the sergeant to lock his rifle into place.  
Benson could soon recognize the rasping call that the Banshees made when they flew. One flew past the open door of the troop bay, and the private let loose a withering blast of automatic fire.  
Benson couldn't tell if the woman had missed, but if she had hit the aircraft, it hadn't gone down. Benson made a subconscious decision to put on his helmet, and three-point-seven-five seconds after he did it, a fiery plasma bolt smashed into the rear of the Pelican, heating the underside of the tail of the vehicle to a bright red, slagging the last four feet from the belly of the dropship, and taking Cookie and her mounted machine gun with it. The Pelican jerked once, violently, and Benson became grateful he had put his helmet on as chips of superheated metal bounced off of his faceplate.  
One of the pilots yelled, "Fuck!" and the Pelican began to shudder spasmodically. Benson almost got up, but he changed his mind when the belly of the transport began to glow underneath the toes of his boots. The Marine next to Benson laughed, and they both moved their feet backwards from the hot metal. "I always wanted a foot-warmer for Christmas!" The Helljumper quipped, grinning.  
Benson might have laughed under some other circumstances, but the joke didn't seem very funny in the first place. He gripped a handle on the ceiling of the troop bay, and wished he were on the ground, where he could do something useful. For a split second, Benson wondered if the Covenant troops inside the Phantom felt the same as him.  
The sergeant's thoughts were interrupted by a crackle of static, and the pilot of the first Pelican spoke, his speech only breaking up a little. "Echo Three-Seventy-Nine, we have detected an suitable landing spot directly beneath us. The lieutenant believes it could be the map room for the Delta Halo installation, over." The first pilot paused to hear the response. "Roger that, Echo Two-Eighty-Eight, begin your descent. We will follow shortly."  
Benson began to smile underneath his faceplate. It was agony, sitting in the dropship, waiting for the Covenant to either blow them to pieces, or be blown to pieces themselves. He knew full well that the Covenant aircraft would probably blow them apart like any other air-to-air or space combat situation, but the result on the ground would be different. The Covenant troops were far less durable than their ships, and Benson took great pleasure in that fact.  
The Pelican took another hit, this time from the plasma cannons on the underside of the Phantom. The dropship shook like a dying, angry beast, and a strangled scream echoed in Benson's helmet, followed by a loud bang. The partition between the cockpit of the Pelican and the troop bay was ripped free by the wind rushing past the cripple aircraft. At that moment, Sergeant Martin Benson's life flashed before his eyes. He saw himself, in his mother's arms, the image of him a four years old, running his plastic scooter into the wall, and banging his head against it. He saw everything in only a few seconds, and it was then that Benson believed with all of his heart that he was going to die.  
He might've been right. Might have, but wasn't. What the pilot had failed to disclose was that even though the island was directly beneath them, it was still a good hundred meters forward. The mangled Pelican in which Benson now fell in had enough momentum and altitude to safely slam into the top of the cliff-like barrier that protected the interior of the island, and slide across it, stopping just at the edge of the inside cliff. Benson swore for several minutes, with a passion he did not usually exhibit. The other ODSTs didn't need to say anything, because their only present commanding officer had done it for them. And in their collective opinions, it was done quite admirably. Immediately, Benson sent a radio signal to Lieutenant Jamison.  
"Lieutenant, the passengers of Echo Three-Seventy-Nine are all alright. Please proceed to regroup within the interior of the island, and we'll meet you there." Benson gave a thumbs-up to the other Marines, and as he reached for the button that would release him from his seat, the ground underneath the dropship groaned. The moist soil, which couldn't hold the Pelican's weight, collapsed. The ruined vehicle was sent nose-first into the pit that was the center of the island, and flipped onto its' back. It was then, hanging upside-down from their seats on the Pelican, that the ODSTs began to laugh, climbing down from their perches, and collecting themselves from the emotional shock of nearly plummeting to their doom. One Marine commented to Benson, "It's like some higher power intervened."  
Benson couldn't know how much he would wish that to happen in the days to come.

Jama 'Marumee was happy. Not the type of happiness one feels when he wakes up one day to find that he has been reassigned to the frontlines, but a happiness not far from bliss. 'Marumee had just been promoted to Special Operations Commander, and he couldn't possibly be happier. It was the highest honor a member of his brood had received, and the many hatchlings he had helped produce would sing of their sire's achievements for many years to come. The Sangheili had spent many hours polishing his bone-white armor to a high opalescent sheen.  
Of course, as his own had sire always said, _the proud shall soon be vanquished_, 'Marumee could not help but feel great joy for his achievement. Another added bonus was the small, oddly bent object at the Elite's waist. 'Marumee gripped the object in his right hand, but did not activate it, and kept his plasma rifle in his left. He stood in front of three rows of black-clad Unggoy and Sangheili commandos.  
"The High Prophet has sent us on a most glorious mission, troops. What is it?" 'Marumee growled. The excitement was gnawing at the troops. 'Marumee could see it in their eyes.  
"To fight the human vermin and to die for the Prophets." They said, in a ritual started by a small group of truly faithful Covenant commanders.  
"The Prophets have blessed this mission, blessed you. Your victories shall be sung for generations in your brood's battle poem. Even those who fall at the hands of the human infestation shall have died honorably."  
'Marumee paused, for something the humans would've called 'emphasis', and then continued.  
"So brethren, no matter if we live or die, we will fight. For the will of the Prophets. For the great journey! FOR THE EXTERMINATION OF HERESY AND ALL WHO THREATEN THE COVENANT!"  
'Marumee roared this last sentence, and with a flick of his right wrist, activated the plasma sword, and held it high about his head. The blade throbbed a bluish-white light, and hummed vigorously.  
The Covenant troops roared their approval back twofold, and 'Marumee laughed. The pilot of the transport spoke over a comm channel, "Clear the exit hatch. Activating grav lift."  
'Marumee shut off the plasma blade in his hand, and placed it on his belt, allowing him to wield the plasma rifle in his right. A hatch opened in the floor of the Phantom's troop bay, and 'Marumee pointed at the first row of commandos.  
"Two at a time, and provide cover for the others." 'Marumee stepped into the grav lift's circumference, and a Sangheili armed with a particle beam rifle stepped in with him.  
'Marumee and his companion were propelled downward by the grav lift. A burst of projectile fire alerted 'Marumee to the human presence below. A quick survey concluded that most, if not all of the humans had survived the crash.  
He grinned, and fired back. The humans were vermin, but they were as stubborn and as die-hard and any Covenant trooper. That's why killing them was so much fun.  
Benson fired one burst from his battle rifle, trying to hit the Elite in the white armor. He missed, and before he could take another shot, the bastard fired back. The Elite hit a Marine whose name Benson didn't know. The Elite was either a lousy shot, or the Marine was lucky, because the plasma made glass out of the sand behind the Marine. Unfortunately, the Marine's luck lasted all of two seconds, because he was treated to a blob of plasma to the right shin.  
Benson returned fire, and blasted the Elite with the particle beam rifle right in the head. Apparently, the Covenant hadn't thought to strengthen the shielding around a trooper's head. Stupid move, but advantageous to the Marines. Benson took a moment to observe the two-meter tall corpse go limp in midair, but still gently float downwards.  
He decided to stop when a fuel rod crashed into the ground at the feet of the Helljumper to Benson's right, vaporizing him instantly, and turning his skeleton into a lumpy pile of carbonized bone.  
At the point, Benson opened a public comm. channel, by yelling to the ODSTs. "Everyone fall back! Get behind something, or the Covenant will treat you to a fuel rod, just like Private Patterson!" He was rewarded with a few scattered agreements before he moved behind cover himself.


	2. Revelations: Chapter 2

Halo 2

By Mr. Sludgy

Welcome to the second installment of Halo 2: Revelations. If you don't recognize the name Martin Benson, then go back to chapter one.

**Chapter Two**

**Deployment + 02 hours, 47 minutes, 18 seconds (Sergeant Benson Mission Clock)/ Crash-landing site of Echo 379, in combat on surface of Delta Halo.**

Jama 'Marumee's comrades poured from the belly of the Phantom troopship, and formed a perimeter around the circle formed by the Phantom's grav lift.

An overzealous Sangheili began to roar, "Kill the human bastards! Kill them all!" 'Marumee began to worry about the trooper's sanity, until the unnamed commando received a trio of bullets through his neck for his trouble.

"Watch those humans carefully. If they flank us, we'll be torn apart," 'Marumee shouted, and ducked behind a rock to avoid a burst of bullets. Grimly, 'Marumee smiled. He did not smile because he had a funny thought, or because he had gotten a kill, but because he had felt like it. Because he could, he supposed.

Sergeant Benson fired at the Elite in the shiny white armor. It ducked behind a rock, and Benson snarled, "Fucker!" He sat down, leaning against a tree, and reloaded. To follow up, he pulled the pin on a grenade, and lobbed it behind him. The following screams, accompanying the loud BANG was more than satisfying enough for missing the Elite. He laughed, and then leaned out from cover, blasting a Grunt in the head.

Suddenly, his radio crackled. "Hey Sergeant Benson! Save some of the party favors for us, eh?" Lieutenant Jamison hollered. The second Pelican swooped over the canyon-like space that Benson and his men were fighting in.

"Hold that thought, Benson." Jamison said, pausing for a moment. Benson heard another explosion, and then the battered hulk of one of the Phantoms came crashing down onto the Covenant forces that Benson and company was fighting. The Pelican followed, instead making a perfect landing to start discharging its' troop and equipment payload. Benson snapped to salute, and immediately went to help the El-tee with a mounted turret, one of those big guns with so much ammo, it was like it never ran out.

"I think your little present got rid of most of the Covenant, Lieutenant." Benson said with a grin. Jamison tapped his faceplate, and pointed.

A red-armored Elite was trying to limp away. Benson pointed his rifle and let it cough once. The bullets hit their mark, and the Elite stumbled to the ground.

"That better be all of them," Growled one of the Marines, "I don't want to be putting those fuckheads down all day!"

'Marumee awoke to the sound of flames crackling, and a pounding headache. "What in the name of the Prophets?" He moaned, rubbing his aching cranium. A quick survey told the Elite all he needed to know. He was one lucky son of a bitch. The Phantom had crushed the most of where the Covenant had been taking cover, and the rock 'Marumee had been taking cover behind had been large enough to prop the Phantom up, and keep him from being squashed like a Kig-Yar in the path of a Lekgolo.

'Marumee was extremely careful as he crawled from the wreck. The humans were obviously fortifying their perimeter by now, and could have picked through the wreckage already. To be honest, 'Marumee didn't know how long he had been out, and he wasn't going to be killed by carelessness.

The Sangheili dashed for a large structure that jutted from the wall, and was surrounded by boulders. Quietly, he peeked between the rocks, to check and see if anyone had spotted him. Nobody had.

'Marumee sighed, and whispered, "Fuck. How am I going to escape this?" In his thinking, the alien began to tap his foot. When he heard a faint clank, he looked down. Staring back was metal portal, which slid open as 'Marumee neared it.

"How did I miss that?" 'Marumee muttered, striding in. He carried his plasma rifle, with an almost-full charge. Hooking it onto his belt, the Elite wandered into the tunnel, and began to walk.

It didn't take long for 'Marumee to learn that the tunnel was not going to end soon. It emptied into an L-shaped balcony, which seemed to be some sort of observation deck. The windows weren't sturdy enough to withstand a beating from the Sangheili plasma rifle, and they caved right in, allowing the alien to hop down into the lower level.

The room had two rectangles in the middle, which seemed to be a kind of display case, or a containment module. A grouping of solid-hologram consoles glowed cool colors. Bizarre runes spiraled outwards from the center of on screen, and various readouts blinked, spun, and otherwise drew attention to themselves.

With slight hesitation, 'Marumee tapped a button. A hissing sounded, and the raised deck under the Sangheili's feet became transparent. A hiss echoed, and a plate _inside_ the containment chamber elevated several centimeters up, and separated, revealing a black hole in the floor.

When nothing happened for several minutes, 'Marumee stomped on the clear metal panel he was standing on. For a moment, 'Marumee thought he heard a faint slithery sound coming from the chamber.

In his curiosity, the alien pressed his muzzle against the glass, and peered down into the dark square beneath him, trying to see something. Suddenly a bulbous, squid-like creature shot out of the dark and right at 'Marumee's face.

'Marumee threw himself backward, forgetting that there was a glass panel between him and the Flood infection form. In his haste to escape, the Sanheili's hop sent him crashing off of the top of the containment chamber, and onto his back. His shield crackled at the force of the impact onto the floor, and the infection form skittered back and forth against the permanently clear side of the containment chamber.

"Son of a BITCH!" 'Marumee shouted at the tiny infection form, which did not show any less eagerness to attack. Then, all of a sudden, the parasite stopped, and rested by the hole from whence it had come, twitching its' tiny tentacles and penetrators, and doing some sort of dance.

Very quickly, more of the tiny aliens appeared out of the hole, and began to follow suit. Soon, the entire containment chamber was filled with dozens of the infection forms.

'Marumee wasn't very sure what the little tentacled aliens were, but he found himself somewhat disturbed by them. The bizarre creatures seemed to radiate a malicious aura, and 'Marumee decided he would rather not hang around them any more than necessary.

With this in mind, the Sangheili strode over to the door at the end of the room, and as he neared, it immediately hissed open to reveal a small room, with an elevator in it.

The elevator didn't appear to go up, as was evident by the low ceiling. However, the ceiling was high enough so that 'Marumee could stand comfortably on the platform as he hesitantly pressed a button on the rectangular holopanel facing the rear of the elevator.

The platform shot downward, and red bands on the walls of the shaft whizzed past 'Marumee's eyes, and increased in speed until they were almost completely blurred together.

And then the elevator stopped as fast as it had begun. 'Marumee stared at a space identical to the one he had just left. A small, oddly shaped room with one door. The main, and only difference was that the door was square, considerably larger, and split into four sections as 'Marumee wandered through it.

'Marumee found himself in a fairly large, square room with another door at the other end. With surprising speed, the entry hatch slammed shut, and 'Marumee could only whirl around as it sealed shut, and began to glow red.

In unison, a voice began to speak an alien language. 'Marumee couldn't understand most of it, but he recognized a few words. One was the word 'warning', and a word that sounded similar to the Sangheili term for 'contaminants'. The alien soldier didn't like the possibilities that gave him, and reached for the energy sword at his belt.

With a flick of the wrist, the blade snapped to life, and the second door opened. There was a rush of air, and a foul smell wafted into 'Marumee's nostrils. With a grimace, the alien warrior stepped into a large room, about half as big as a launch bay for a cargo shuttle, with several columns providing support for a clear observation deck.

The air in the chamber was so thick with some sort of fog that 'Marumee could hardly breathe. The miasma was chokingly heavy, and it beat the Sangheili's visibility to death with a stick, but it didn't seem to be poisonous as it was. It had a greenish tinge, and 'Marumee suspected it came from the large protuberances growing on the walls.

Upon further inspection, 'Marumee found that there were no doors in this chamber. It was, in essence, a gigantic maze, in which the only exit was the portal used to enter, and that didn't open from the inside. If something lurked in this labyrinth, 'Marumee would have to deal with it.

The entire area was eerily silent, and 'Marumee tried to keep as quiet as possible. It seemed wrong, somehow, to defile the sanctity of this place by breaking the oppressive silence. Besides, there could be something waiting around the next corner that might like nothing more than to beat the Sangheili into a bloody pulp, and suck his remains up through a tube.

'Marumee wandered through the murky maze until he found that he had been discovered by a mob of infection forms. The parasites leaped for his face, and with a slap from the flat of the energy blade, they exploded into a green mist.

A few minutes later, a veritable carpet of the creatures skittered towards him. Angrily, the Sangheili kicked, smacked and vaporized the tiny threats; roaring at them as he was forced backwards through the corridors, back towards the door that was locked from the inside.

The miniscule threat that 'Marumee faced seemed to grow even bigger as he neared the portal to safety, as if the malicious little creatures _knew_ the door was locked, and enjoyed that fact. But these tiny creatures couldn't possibly be so complex. They would have to have some sort of higher intelligence controlling them.

The thought almost made 'Marumee laugh. Such single-minded little tyrants couldn't possibly be under the control of some higher intelligence. The entire room was crowded with flood infection forms, and 'Marumee was growing tired.

As 'Marumee was concentrating on the Flood around his feet, he looked up to the clear ceiling, several meters above, and found an infection form leaping at his face. Without a thought, the Sangheili batted it away by jerking his head. It happened to distract him from the horde long enough for him to be buried in flood.

The Sangheili was filled with hundreds of razor-sharp penetrators, and he sank to his knees. The warrior could tolerate a large amount of pain, but this almost crossed the limit. He gave a strangled cry, and he was almost consumed by the Flood until a stream of blue heat blasted across the Flood on 'Marumee's body. The aliens were packed so thick that the Sentinel Beam didn't register until the infectious little aliens were burnt away, and when the beam crackled across 'Marumee's armor, he shook himself like a wet dog, and sent the remaining infection forms flying.

Limping over to the incline that lined each of the chambers, 'Marumee gasped from exertion, and the shiny gold Sentinels that had defended him set up a perimeter, burning squid-like aliens whenever they were detected.

As the Sangheili regained his composure, he was greeted by a strange floating contraption. He was frozen in awe as the entity began to speak.

"Hello. I am Twenty-four-oh-one Penitent Tangent, Monitor of Installation Zero-Five. You have breached the Flood holding chambers, destroyed a large number of the specimens, and endangered your life and many others. What poor judgment." The Oracle floated towards the locked door. 'Marumee followed, and the door hissed open as the Oracle neared.

"As you can see, Installation Zero-Five has been kept in good order. I have noted that there have not been many status reports from Installation Zero-Four for some time now. Do you know what might've caused this?"

The Oracle did not allow 'Marumee to speak. He immediately began to speak again, and continued to do so for quite a while. 'Marumee began to tune the somewhat annoying, yet unbelievably holy icon, and examine his surroundings.

The Oracle eventually lead 'Marumee back to the doorway he had

The Oracle proceeded to lead 'Marumee through a series of labs and chambers obviously intended to be used to study something, apparently the Flood. All the while, the Oracle babbled on about the supposed outbreak of flood on Installation Zero-Four and how 343 Guilty Spark supposedly reported the appearance of the Reclaimer. He also expressed a dire disbelief in these things, and ignored them, since he himself preferred to concentrate on more pressing matters, such as the small outbreaks of Flood that Installation Zero-Five had been experiencing in the past few decades, which had happened many and close between, far too close to be any random outbreaks so it had to be some outside control from the primary controller, who was being held in Major Containment Zone 857.

At this, 'Marumee snorted. He had been wrong about the infection forms' lack of a higher intelligence. As he contemplated this thought, he didn't realize that he was at the door he had used to enter.

When he did, he looked at the Oracle, and said, "Why have we come here?" Tangent tilted himself curiously.

"Why, to find more information about Installation Zero-Four, of course. It is vital that I find out what happened, so that the information can be distributed to the other installations and catalogued properly."

'Marumee gaped as Tangent drifted between the doors, and headed for the human encampment. For a moment, he stopped to wonder the wisdom of following the Oracle into the human encampment. With slight reassurance, 'Marumee decided that if he were to die, he would take some of the humans with him. That said, he marched to his impending doom.


End file.
